The Community Movie Might Still Happen With A Big-Time Action Director

Six seasons and a movie. Originally a proclamation of how long the NBC series The Cape would last (it didn't), Community itself latched onto those words following its second season, and thanks to Yahoo! rescuing the TV series it was cancelled by NBC, it fulfilled the six seasons portion of the promise. The movie, however, has yet to surface, but Community creator Dan Harmon hasn't given up hope on bringing the Greendale gang into a theatrical setting. In fact, he's been talking with Fast & Furious 6 director Justin Lin about bringing the Community movie to life. According to Harmon:

I hope I'm not talking out of school by saying that. I'll get together with him every once in a while, or we'll have dinner, and we're talking --- we keep trying to figure out how to do this.

While Justin Lin is best well known for directing four of the Fast & Furious entries (which will become five if he signs on for Fast & Furious 9) and Star Trek Beyond, he also directed three episodes in Community Season 1, including "Modern Warfare," the first of the show's paintball-themed episodes. As Dan Harmon told The Wrap, Lin has "always been jazzed about the idea of doing a Community movie," so it sounds like he and Harmon are actively working to finally get this project off the ground. Given that Lin is primarily focusing on blockbuster movies nowadays, it might be difficult to fit a Community movie onto his already-packed plate, but at least he sounds enthusiastic about returning to Greendale Community College.

However, Justin Lin isn't the only big-time director who Dan Harmon has talked with about making the Community movie. While many of you know Joe and Anthony Russo best as the directors of the latter two Captain America movies and the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War, before joining the MCU, they helmed numerous Community episodes, albeit separately rather than as a duo. Harmon sees the Russos and Lin as the kind of people who have the clout to finally make the Community movie happen. However, given how busy the Russos are with their Marvel work and other projects, presumably Lin stands a better chance of actually directing the movie.

Back in September, Joel McHale, who played Jeff Winger, said he's hopeful the Community movie will eventually happen, although he's unsure if there will still be an "appetite" for it after a decade. Aside from getting a director and proper financing, the other major obstacle facing the Community movie is getting the ensemble cast back together. From Gillian Jacobs and Allison Brie starring in their own TV series to the uncertainty of Yvette Nicole Brown and Donald Glover returning to the Community world after they departed the series, it won't be an easy task getting all those familiar faces back in front of the camera. But if someone like Justin Lin were leading the charge alongside Dan Harmon, maybe that would help in finally moving this project from a concept to a reality.

Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more news on what's happening with the Community movie, and look through our 2018 premiere guide to see what hits theaters next year.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Sign up below to receive our weekly email with the best content about movies, news and television from the team at CinemaBlend